How Do You Say "Gangbusters" in Hindi?

Neither tropical storm-worthy rain showers nor a power outage right in the middle of the new Deepa Mehta film could dampen the success of this past weekend's 12th annual South Asian Film Festival. Never discount the power of a pretty face and the press--with the image of the stunning, former Miss World Aishwarya Rai in THE MISTRESS OF SPICES staring out from the cover of the Orlando Sentinel Calendar section, and very good-to-excellent reviews for all four features beginning on page 3, this became a record-setting year for the festival. Two of the five screenings actually had dozens of stand-bys turned away, and more Series Passes were sold than at any other time in the history of the festival. Not to mention the quickest we've ever sold out of Kingfisher beer and enough orders of samosas to keep the kitchen smelling like curry for months. So thanks to all of our sponsors, our distributors, my co-producer Jasbir Mehta and the Asian Cultural Association, and evidently the best lineup of films we've ever had: THE MISTRESS OF SPICES, AMU, BOMBAY CALLING, LUCKY, and WATER.

WATER returns to Enzian later this month (after A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION) for its regular theatrical run in Central Florida, and we're all looking forward to it--especially the 200+ who were so rudely interrupted by Mother Nature on Sunday.